De Puniet’s accident occurred on lap nine, causing the race to be red-flagged and restarted. As said, Espargaro and Bautista were also involved in the crash and were not allowed to re-enter the competition.
Moreover, Kallio apparently hit the Frenchman’s left leg while he was passing by. De Puniet was immediately taken to the Clinica Mobile to undergo an X-Ray, which unfortunately confirmed the fracture of the left tibia and fibula.
During the qualifying on Saturday, De Puniet lost grip due to spilt oil from Lorenzo’s bike, hit Ben Spies’ machine and hurt his right leg.
“It can’t be worse than this! I took a bad start from the third row but I was back to ninth and my race pace was pretty good. I could push for the sixth place despite my painful ankle after yesterday’s crash in the qualifying. Suddenly I crashed at exit of turn 4 and one bike hit my left leg. I immediately realized that it was something serious and after the X-ray we discovered the truth,” stated De Puniet for the press.
The LCR rider left the circuit with the helicopter accompanied by Doctor Claudio Costa and was taken to the Hartmannsdorf hospital where he underwent surgery that involved inserting a pin in his left leg.
As he is seriously injured, De Puniet will miss next Sunday’s US Grand Prix. The Frenchman is currently 7th in the overall standings, just two points ahead of Ben Spies.
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